036 – Build New House
Qin Mian also had asked Lei Tie to invite Lei Daqiang, Lei Xiangren, Lei Xiangyi and Lei Xiangli when there were many people on the road. It was only an invitation out of showing manner, because otherwise an ‘unfilial’ hat would fall, he and Lei Tie would have a bad reputation in the village. Whether Lei Daqiang and company would like to come or not was their problem. Now, it was enough for the two families to maintain their sentiments on the surface.
Before that day came, Lei Tie went to the mountain with a bow set and a basket on his back. If he could hunt some preys, they didn’t need to spent money.
Lei Tie grabbed a stick in front of him to beat the grass and frighten way the snake[1]. In his basket, there was a new and slightly smaller basket.
Qin Mian followed after empty handed. His idea was that since Lei Tie was a kung fu expert, they wouldn’t be in danger on the mountain, so he took going up the mountain as a tour. Two days ago, there was an autumn rain. In the wet underbrush, there were patches of mushrooms huddled together like small umbrellas. They stood lively and fully in the underbrush, making whoever saw them happy.The mushrooms were fresh and beautiful. Qin Mian took out the shovel in the basket to dig. Although he didn’t communicate with Lei Tie, they went up the mountain many times at a time and had a tacit understanding. Lei Tie grabbed the bow set and turned around looking for prey. In a short time, he hunted a hare weighing more than 3 jin.
When the farmers were done with the work in the farmland, they were idle. Since the two people were not in a rush, after Qin Mian had dug up the surrounding mushrooms, they went deep into the mountain.
It was just that the dew was too dense. Although the two people wore an extra pair of trousers, their trouser legs were still wet and felt a little cold when they stuck onto the flesh.
Lei Tie’s trousers were also wet below the knees, but he paid no mind to it.
“Is there any big animal in the mountain? If you can hunt a big one, the hide can use to make several kneepads to keep warm and waterproof.”
“There is. Go further in.” Lei Tie caught a glimpse of a brown snake on Qin Mian’s left side, peering out of the grass silently. Without battling an eyelid, the stick in his hand poked and jabbed, the snake then flew far away.
“What’s wrong?” Qin Mian looked up inexplicably when he heard the sound of leaves rustling.“Nothing.”
There was a stabbing pain on the back of his hand. Qin Mian looked down and it turned out that he had been scratched by a branch. There was a small tree over a person tall bearing red wheat-sized fruits with thorns grown slightly obliquely upward the branches.
“Why careless?” Lei Tie saw a long and thin scratch on the back of his hand and frowned.
“This is…” Qin Mian couldn’t believe his eyes. A few days ago, he was still lamenting that there was no Sichuan pepper in this world. Today, he found it on the mountain. In his previous existence, there were three types of Sichuan pepper trees in his grandfather’s vegetable garden.
Lei Tie said: “Spicy fruits.”
Another new name again. Qin Mian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He picked a fruit and put it into his mouth. It was the familiar peppery and spicy taste.
Lei Tie grabbed his hand abruptly. “Why put it in [your] mouth?”
This was the first time that he spoke to Qin Mian in such a harsh tone that Qin Mian thought it was a bit unusual. It turned out that this man also had a temper. Feeling a bit warm inside, he smiled. “This is a Sichuan pepper tree and this fruit is a kind of seasoning. I have a hunch that we have another way to make money. We have to make a mark on this place and dig it up when we return.”
Lei Tie stared at him for a long time before taking out a shovel from his basket without a word. Without even looking, he poked hard at a tree trunk nearby and turned around to leave. A bark larger than a face was poked out of the tree trunk, revealing a beige tree core.
Qin Mian had an illusion that it was his skin that had been peeled off, his back felt cold and he looked at the man’s back suspiciously. This guy is not pissed off, right?
He walked quickly to catch up with Lei Tie and looked at his face — expressionless and cold.
Really angry? Qin Mian was extremely surprised. As he vaguely aware of something, he went to catch up again, raised his arm to hook around Lei Tie’s shoulder and then raised his lips to smile at him when he looked over. Because of the height difference, the posture was a little awkward, but he didn’t let go.
“I’ve a sense of propriety, I won’t rush to eat things I don’t know. I didn’t eat the Sichuan pepper just now, just licked it with my tongue.”
It was only then Lei Tie’s expression eased up.
“You people called that thing a spicy fruit? You didn’t know it could be used as a seasoning?”
“It tastes spicy. The old people believe it’s poisonous.”
“So it is like that.” Qin Mian rolled his eyes with a smile on his face.
At about two o’clock, they went down the mountain with a hungry stomach. The harvest for the half a day was quite abundant: one hare; three pheasants; two roe deers which assumed to be siblings weighing more than 40 jin; a basket of mushrooms and chestnuts. Because there were so many things, both of Qin Mian’s hands were occupied. The Sichuan pepper tree could not be dug for the time being, but would be transplanted after the new house was built. Thus, Qin Mian picked a lot of Sichuan peepers.
They arrived at home with sweat on their faces. Qin Mian was in good health now, so he didn’t feel too tired but his arms were a little sore. He sat for a while before going to cook.
Lei Tie had known earlier that the wife had no joy without meat. Without being told to, he carried a pheasant away to deal with.
Qin Mian watched him walk to the pond with satisfaction and decided to cook pheasant stewed with chestnut for lunch.
……
In the blink of an eye, it was the day when the new house construction started. The weather was good, the blazing sun rose in the sky.
Qin Mian invited Sister Zhang and another Aunt Wang, who had a good skill in cooking. Aunt Wang was in her forties and her skill was among the best in the village. People in the village usually asked her to handle happy events. Sister Zhang had a good relationship with Aunt Wang and invited her on behalf of Qin Mian which she readily agreed.
Having had breakfast at home earlier, the two people came to Qin Mian’s home together and brought along some bowls and chopsticks. Because Qin Mian had not enough dishware, it could only be borrowed from others.
Qin Mian had prepared today’s ingredients the night before and explained in detail how to make the lunch to Sister Zhang and Aunt Wang.
They had heard that Qin Mian had planned to serve two meat and two vegetable dishes. Upon seeing the pheasants and hare in the kitchen, they were internally excited because they could also taste these dishes at noon.
The main food was steamed bun with two meat and two vegetable dishes which were stewed hare meat with potato, stewed pheasant with mushroom, stir fried crown daisy and stir fried eggplant.
Both Sister Zhang and Aunt Wang were quick and neat workers. They pulled up their sleeves, washed their hands and started to work.
After telling them not to forget to make tea, Qin Mian hurried to the house site.
The laborers were all honest people. They didn’t come late on purpose and also came after breakfast. When Qin Mian arrived, everyone was busy. Lei Tie was talking to Zhang Dashuan while holding a piece of paper.
There were two tables and a few chairs not far from the brick pile, which should be borrowed by Lei Tie.
Qin Mian walked over quickly.
Upon seeing him, Zhang Dashuan smiled at Lei Tie and said, “This plan wasn’t drawn by your wife, is it?” The houses in the village were basically of the same structure — a three-room house was divided into three parts; a central hall with bedrooms on both sides. But Qin Mian’s plan divided the three-room house into four parts; two big and two small rooms. There was a hallway and a back door between the two rooms in the north. This kind of layout was unique in the village, so Zhang Dashuan thought it was a little unusual.
Lei Tie didn’t deny it.
“Brother Zhang.” Qin Mian greeted Zhang Dashuan, but he didn’t get near at once. Instead, he faced the laborers and secretly sized them up. With a smile on his face, he said in a loud voice, “Thank you for coming to help, brothers and uncles. This noon’s dishes are stewed hare with potato, stewed pheasant with mushroom, stir fried crown daisy and stir fried eggplant, oily guaranteed. Everyone work harder and let’s have meal on time at noon!”
Looking at the skinny and regarded as a useless teenager, whose words said were straight to the point without the slightest hesitation, and also calm and easy-mannered, the group of big men suddenly put away some contempt.
Some of the lively younger guys even took the lead in cheering.
In an instant, the atmosphere was heated. While they were enthusiastically digging the foundation, moving bricks and mixing starch paste, they were tearing their voices to chat at the same time. The children who were attracted by the noises here came over running one after another, playing around the brick pile. They were not afraid to be scolded when they accidentally got in the way of the adults and laughed merrily as they got out of the way. It was very lively.
Zhang Dashuan cheerfully whispered to Lei Tie, “Your wife is amazing.”
Lei Tie looked at the teenager coming by and nodded to Zhang Dashuan.
“Brother Zhang,” Qin Mian stood beside Lei Tie and warmly said, “Brother Tie and I don’t have much experience in this field, and we’d still need to trouble you working hard today. Please help us take care of it.”
Zhang Dashuan frankly said: “It is as it should be, don’t worry. I’ll go ahead and be busy.”
“You don’t need to help here. Bring the tea later.” Lei Tie said to Qin Mian.
Qin Mian said: “I know. You only manage things here, I’ll arrange the rest.”
He didn’t see the people in the old house and thought they would not come. When he was leaving, he saw Lei Xiangren, Lei Xiangyi and Lei Xiangli going this way. Lei Daqiang was nowhere to be seen.
He didn’t care. Since he couldn’t help here, he turned to go home.
Sister Zhang and Aunt Wang had their own division of labor; one dealt with the dishes and the other kneaded the dough, working in an orderly manner. Unable to intervene, he didn’t get into the kitchen.
This arrangement allowed Sister Zhang and Aunt Wang to receive his trust, and his heart settled.
Qin Mian went to deal with the housework. He collected his clothes and Lei Tie’s to wash and then led the ox to drink water and eat grass. Afterwards, he hid in the bedroom and took out the pencil and paper to scribble.
Now in early October, the weather was cooler. It was expected that the winter here would be very cold. He felt it was necessary to build a heatable brick bed in the bedroom. He was very clear about how the heatable brick bed was made. Previously, he had lived with a northeastern family for two days when he went to the northeast to shoot food programs because he was curious.
Note:
[1]打草惊蛇 [dǎ cǎo jīng shé] = beat the grass and frighten away the snake — act rashly and alert the enemy
